MLB's 6 riskiest contracts of the offseason: Where does Alex Bregman rank?

MLB's hot stove season is effectually over, as the top two dozen players are off the board. Free agency is always a gamble for teams and players, as an executive with a tolerance for risk and a superstar whose tenure will be judged on his salary both need a lot of things to go right in order to avoid being remembered as the central figures of a nightmare contract. 

That being said, with risk comes significant hope and opportunity. So, give these high rollers credit for trying to improve their rosters in the splashiest of ways; it figures to have a significant impact on the future one way or another. 

Here's a look at the six riskiest contracts of the offseason. 

This contract became a risk the minute the A's signed a middle-of-the-rotation starter with a troubling track record of injuries to the largest contract in franchise history. Maybe it's a risk they had to take in order to lure a veteran with upside like Severino to an unstable organization in the first place, but it's a little awkward when you realize the second-highest salary on the A's 2025 payroll is left-hander Jeffrey Springs' $10.5 million contract. To sign anyone of significance, the A's likely had to overpay for even a mid-rotation arm like Severino. 

Still, spending $22 million per year over the next three seasons on a starter with durability issues probably wasn't the best way to improve the roster overall. Before last year's renaissance, Severino threw just 209.1 innings across 40 starts from 2019 to 2023 due to multiple injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Things are trending better for the Dominican right-hander after he amassed 182 innings across 31 starts, including a shutout, for the Mets last year. However, his 3.91 ERA, 4.21 FIP and